The Irish Road Haulage Association and Dublin City Council yesterday differed over whether a pilot commercial delivery scheme for the city centre had been finalised.
The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) yesterday issued a press release announcing the scheme for 2004 which aims to improve traffic flow and road safety. Restrictions, including nine-and-a-half-hour clearways, would be imposed at times during which deliveries could be made on strategic routes in the city centre, it stated.
The IRHA president, Mr Eamonn Morrissey, welcomed the scheme, stating that it "underlined Irish hauliers' commitment to a better traffic and road-safety policy for all".
However, yesterday, when contacted about the scheme, a spokeswoman for Dublin City Council said: "The Traffic Department are working on the strategy but it is not finalised yet and they have no comment to make."
Responding, Mr Paul Twomey of the IRHA said that it had been told at a recent meeting with Dublin City Council officials that the scheme was definitely going ahead.
In the IRHA press release, it was stated that no "on-street" deliveries would be permitted on these routes between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. and between 12.30 p.m. and 7 p.m. except where there were loading bays. Deliveries would be permitted between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. and between 10 a.m. and 12.30 p.m.
Vehicles engaging in deliveries on the designated routes outside the permitted periods would be subject to enforcement action by the city council's parking enforcement contractor and the Garda.
The IRHA and Dublin City Council would embark on a consultation process with individual businesses from September 2003 to discuss any difficulties they expected with the new arrangements, the press release said.
"We are constantly working to try and figure a way out of the mess our infrastructure is in," Mr Morrissey said. "Otherwise, there would be no bread or milk in the shops in the morning."